


Different Routes and Broken Promises

by icedpocarie



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Established Past Relationship, M/M, Oneshot, but so endearing at the same time, how can kikuro be so angsty, self-indulgent?, super slim chance of fluff, this fic got dark so fast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 12:39:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14081136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedpocarie/pseuds/icedpocarie
Summary: Kise has a lot of things to consider.(the beginning, the middle, and the ending of a relationship that could have gone better. or is it the other way around?)





	Different Routes and Broken Promises

 

i.

From the perspective of an outsider, it was easy to say that Kise was a naïve, stupid person. With the flash of every smile and apologetic grin, he had no difficulty in getting out of situations that would prove to be an obstacle for anyone else.

It didn’t help that Kise had an uncanny ability to adapt to anything that he does – whether it be academic, sports, or extracurricular. From flawlessly copying a volleyball serve in his gym class to acing his mathematics exam, life would seem like it was picture perfect for someone like him.

For the longest time, there was no one person or object that can hold his interest. At least, until he watched a game of their school’s famed basketball team. It was purely by chance and as he watched one of the players do an unbelievable move, he thinks that a light inside of him had been lit.

A few days later, he meets with the team and he didn’t know it at the time, but these people would change his life far more than anything or anyone had before.

Especially the blue-eyed boy who seemed far too unimpressive to be his personal trainer, Kuroko Tetsuya.

For a person who had the smallest of builds, it was seemingly impossible that the captain, Akashi, had a high regard for him. When he was introduced to Kuroko, Kise wondered if it was a prank. Here he was, expecting to be accompanied by strong people – like the famed Aomine or Akashi – but he was asked to be trained by a ballboy.

At least, that was his initial thought. Every bad thing he thought about Kuroko was erased a few days after, when the boy who had minimal presence – zero, if he is to tell the truth – ruled the court like a phantom at dusk.

The boy managed to perfectly utilize his seeming absence on the court to give the players a better chance at scoring. As Kise accepts one of the pass – once the shock starts to diffuse – he wonders if this type of game was enjoyable, if it was fun to be someone who would never be able to score a decisive point.

Kise thinks that it is both amazing and stupid at the same time. Whether it was his great love for the game or sheer patience, Kise doesn’t know the reason why he agreed to the set-up. All he knows is that Kise would never be able to do what Kuroko does.

And then, the trainings that were originally boring had become something interesting.

 

“Do you think that I’m stupid?” Kise asks, jokingly, on the rare occurrence that he managed to go home with Kuroko. Aomine was called back by a teacher and it left Kuroko to go home by himself – and Kise took the opportunity to spend the time with the smaller boy.

When Kise asked the question, he didn’t know what answer he expected. Kuroko had always been a little taciturn, and most of the time, his positive responses were only presented to Aomine outside of basketball games.

In the past few weeks that Kuroko trained him, Kise had started to grow more and more curious with him – with the person that had managed to enjoy a sport that he did not especially excel at – even more so when people that can be hailed as geniuses surrounded him.

While his attitude cannot be categorized as pure – Kuroko is far too indifferent outside the courts to be one – it still managed to catch his attention like no other. After all, in another school, someone like Kuroko could have been given the chance to get the spotlight – but here he was, accepting the position of a phantom player just so that he can enjoy the game.

If Kuroko replies with a yes, Kise would probably feel insulted. If he said no, Kise would think that Kuroko _is_ the stupid one. No matter how he looked at it, this was a trap question and he did not even know why he asked it in the first place.

Perhaps, he was genuinely curious. Or maybe, a part of him wanted to know – to determine – if this person truly was worth the time and attention that he was giving him. If Kuroko was to fail in answering a question as simple as this, then it would only mean that he was bound to disappoint Kise in the future, in any case.

But before his thoughts continue, he heard Kuroko answer, belatedly.

“What do you think?”

His question did not have a hint of sarcasm in it, despite how it was worded. And it also was no fair that at that moment, Kuroko himself looked up at Kise, his eyes looking with barely-concealed curiosity, “Are you stupid, Kise-kun?”

… Oh.

Is he?

Meeting Kuroko’s serious eyes and about to dig himself further and deeper, Kise thinks that maybe, just maybe, he _is_ stupid.

 

ii.

Between basketball and Kuroko, if one were to ask him which was more interesting, Kise would pick the former. At the very least, he would have – if he was still himself in his old Teikou uniform, with the posture of one hailed as a genius, of one who was in a league of his own.

Generation of Miracles – that was the name given to their team, when they were playing together. As Kise closes his eyes, he thinks that the days seemed far too much in the past, when the fact that it was only just a few months since all of the team had graduated and went to their own respective schools.

However, at the back of his mind, Kise makes a snarky remark as he thought that then again, when was the last time that they had actually acted as a team? When was the last time when practice didn’t turn out to be a game to get the most points, when scoring had simply become a routine?

Kise originally became a member of the team, thinking that he would quit halfway because he would overpower all of the other members. That didn’t happen but at the same time, he thinks that something worse had happened.

And then, his thoughts unceremoniously go to Kuroko and well… that was a trail that had to be cut off.

How bad were they, as a team that they managed to drive out a person who had genuine love for the sport? That the person would not only quit the team, but also ghost them – to never appear before any of them, not even at the last minutes of their closing ceremony.

And maybe, it was because of that disappearance that Kise’s curiosity has burned once again – lit up again, just like the first time, when he was entranced by the sport, maybe even more – when he heard a little rumor that Kuroko had joined a basketball team.

Even more intriguing was the fact that Kuroko did not look like he had any resent against the sport. At least, as far as Kise was seeing, as he dropped by the school’s gymnasium with barely any permission.

Kuroko was still sporting his blank look, making a fool out of the members by disappearing and reappearing out of nowhere. Kuroko looked like how he was once – and for some reason, that hurt Kise more than he had ever expected.

And that was the reason why Kise confidently walked on in the practice, a smile on his face as he says, “Hi, Kurokocchi.”

Getting the attention of all the people around them, Kise wonders if Kuroko was looking calm because of the audience or because he had already gotten over what happened in Teikou. A sadistic part of him hoped that it was the former, but he did not have the time to consider it because Kuroko started to talk.

“Why are you here?”

The words didn’t seem accusing, but it may just have been Kise feeling hopeful. While Kuroko looked far from please to see his surprise entrance, the boy didn’t look like he wanted to throw a basketball in Kise’s face, too.

“When I heard that our next match was with Seirin,” Kise starts, “I remembered that you were here.”

That was a complete lie – because it was the other way around and he sought for Kuroko, but there were words better left unsaid and this was one of them.

There were other things that happened – some that irritate him, more than the others, such as when the person named Kagami acted like a substitute Aomine, though far less skilled. By the end of the display, Kise knew that Kuroko had already been way beyond exasperated and would have wanted him gone.

However, that was far from what he wanted. Kise doesn’t know what answer he will get, but he still takes out his hand as he suggests, “Come join my school. Play basketball together with me again.”

As he watches for Kuroko’s answer, he wonders if he would get a slap or be ignored. He thinks that both would be well-deserved.

 

At the end of their rematch, Kise is only a little surprised and bitter to find Kuroko waiting for him. There was a small, hollow smile on his lips as he teased, “Are you here to parade your win?”

Kuroko didn’t even flinch at that. Instead, he looked up at the ceiling, and said, “You did well.”

“I lost.” Kise answers him without missing a beat, forgetting to coat the bitterness in his tone.

“And your team would have won,” Kuroko mutters, “Would have deserved it too.”

Kise wants to point out that he agrees – because he honestly thought that they would, too. But there was a part of him that felt way too tired to argue with a former lover about who should have won or not – especially when said lover was his opponent in the game.

For the first time in a long while, Kise sighs and meets Kuroko’s eyes, “Kurokocchi, what _are_ you here for?”

And honestly, the loss still hurt both his pride and his body, but Kuroko’s next words seemingly patched his soul and his forgotten scars when he looked up to Kise with a smile and said, “I saw your love for basketball today, Kise-kun.”

“You are amazing,” Kise didn’t even have the time to act flustered, because Kuroko continues with a, “Just like you have always been.”

Kise wants to point out – despite his better consciousness – that he definitely had not been amazing back in their middle school days. But those things were better off for another conversation because this might just be the only time when Kuroko would willingly seek him out – instead of the other way around.

“Falling for me?” Kise asks, refusing to add another word to that, as he gave a cheeky grin. Kuroko made a face at that, and he gave a short, hurt expression, before he chuckles, “Just kidding.”

There was a pause that was neither awkward nor comforting and before Kise can think about it, he suggested, “Hey, do you want to go out with me tomorrow?”

 

iii.

At the end of the Winter Cup, Kise pulls Kuroko’s arm as soon as the smaller boy passed by him with his team. Bright, blue eyes widened in shock before it distorted in slight confusion.

“Kise-kun…?”

Kuroko’s voice was ragged and breathy, more than usual after finishing a feat that can be considered as a miracle. Any normal person would know that they should state their business later on, when the boy had at least rested, but Kise was far from normal.

That, and he thinks that his heart would explode right then and there if he was not to proceed.

“Kuroko,” Kise belatedly forgets to add the suffix, as he asks, a little too desperate in the heat of the moment, “Can we talk?”

The remaining members of his high school team had already stopped walking, eyeing the two of them with something akin to exasperation. Kagami looked close to grabbing Kuroko’s arm to pull back.

Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened because as soon as Kuroko’s eyes met with Kise’s, he mutters, “Alright.”

Words of gratitude should have left his mouth, but his brain – and his heart – were not functioning as per usual, and the only thing that Kise could do was pull Kuroko to the nearest door outside.

It turned out to be a bad idea when the two of them started to shiver in the cold. Even more so when an exasperated look formed in Kuroko’s face and the only thing that Kise managed to do was give a sheepish smile as he gave his own jacket in apology.

“Kise-kun,” Kuroko starts, slowly, as he took the clothing and wore it. Kise should not have thought about how good it looked on him, and thankfully, Kuroko had a more stable state of mind than him when he continued, “I don’t think that you pulled me out just to make me wear your jacket.”

A pause, before Kuroko backtracked as he made a small face, “Or if that is what you wanted to do, then you are –“

“Kurokocchi,” Kise interjects before Kuroko can say something else, something that might embarrass Kise further – and well, that would just make him even more of a mess than he already was in this state. Slowly, Kise took a breathe as he asked, “Do you remember what I asked you when I first hanged out with you?”

“What?” Immediately, a short sour expression formed on Kuroko’s face as he muttered, “Do I really know how to play basketball?”

… Oops.

Kise forgot that there had been a time when he was not whipped for this boy – a time when he was barely even interested or looked at his way.

“Or… am I ghost?”

That one managed to make Kise chuckle, but he shook his head before he said, “Not on our first meeting – when I first went to buy ice cream with you, my question during that time.”

“To be honest,” Kuroko gave him an exasperated stare, “I don’t think that I’m going to remember something that superficial.”

The words strike him, but Kise knows that he is deserving of it. Still, the bluntness made him smile and as Kise answered his own question, his hands found its way on Kuroko’s shoulders, “When I first met you, I asked if you thought that I was stupid.”

“… Oh.”

“And,” Kise tries his best to look as genuine as he feels when he continues, “I think that I am.”

“You’re not the only one.” Kuroko says, but he interjects with a teasing tone.

At that, Kise gives him his best mock-hurt expression before it turned to a serious one, as his tone dropped, “Do you know why?”

Kuroko must have already caught on that, because his eyes widened momentarily before he looked down. It was brief, but Kise was able to catch the hints of sadness that flashed in those deep eyes.

“Everyone in the team _was_ stupid, but I think I was more of a fool than any single one of them.” Broken promises and sweet lies were always bitter for Kise to take, and it was even a more unpleasant taste to be the one to give them, “I told you that I treasured your basketball style – you – but that didn’t stop me from abandoning you, just how the rest of them had.”

“That’s… ancient history,” Kuroko was still not budging, but his voice trembled a bit, “And you guys were not the only ones being foolish – I was also –“

“That’s not the point!” Kise raises his voice, and it surprised the both of them. Again, he took another deep intake of breathe, as he shook his head, “When I told you to believe me that you were my most important person – back in the past, before everything crumbled – it was the truth. And I told you that I wouldn’t leave you – when you were despairing as Aomine started to skip practices.”

A short, bitter laugh formed in his throat, “I gave you all those sweet words, making you trust me – but in the end, I broke them. I made the most promises and I –“

“Kise-kun.” This time, it was Kuroko who interrupted him and his voice was stable, “You’re not the only one who broke promises.”

“Me, you, everyone in the team – everyone hurt each other, but I think, that, in a way, it was important in making us become the people that we are right now.” There was an encouraging smile as he added, “Do you think that we would have grown as we are, if we didn’t experience those things?”

Kise wanted to say that it was better to not grow at all, if they had to be assholes in the first place. But that was not his answer, as he opted for, “But _we_ had a different relationship –“

“We did.” Kuroko nods and Kise feels heartbroken and hopeful at the same time, “And just like we hurt the team by our actions, we also hurt each other.”

“Kise-kun, I don’t think that you’re the only stupid person here.”

And that was the only thing that Kuroko says when he decided to take Kise’s hands off his shoulders and touch them instead. This time, his smile was hopeful as he added, “But don’t you think that all people grow from their own foolishness?”

“Is that,” Kise’s voice is close to breaking, “Is that your go signal for a second chance?”

Kise’s heart pounded harder than it ever has when Kuroko looked up at him and asked, “Do you want it to be?”

And Kise knows that he is not the most reliable person and there would be times when he would not be able to live up to his own expectations. Maybe, in the future, he would start to make even worse mistakes.

But, maybe Kise is being a little too foolish and reckless because before his mind can process anything else, he leaned towards Kuroko and placed a small, gentle kiss on his lips.

In the future, promises might be broken. And Kise might choose the wrong course of actions. However, with Kuroko by his side – he knows that it would never happen.

The two of them had already grown with their time apart. Kise thinks that it was about time for the both of them to grow together.

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly started to write a Kikuro fic (my first!! for my fave god-tier ship) thinking that I would be able to write fluff but then the words got out and it became this angsty mess... lol. :( I actually have a lot more thoughts about this ship but I'm super sleepy considering I'm writing this at 3 am hahaha.
> 
> I've always loved and continue to love this ship and I thought that it was about time to contribute to it. I think there had been way too many time-skips in the process but hopefully it's still kind of coherent?
> 
> (ps: unbeta-ed sorry)


End file.
